"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross."
-- Sinclair Lewis

Monday, March 28, 2016

Sign The Petition To Allow GOP Convention Goers To Shoot Each Other

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Paul Ryan figured it out before most Republicans did-- and way before Trump began threatening to provoke a riot if the Republican Establishment steals the nomination from him at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland in July. Ryan moved quickly to have guns banned from the arena, even though Ohio is a proud open-carry state, where homicidal Republicans can go to a bar and get drunk and shoot everyone in it. The theory is that everyone in the bar is safer if they all have guns. But not at a Republican convention. We looked at it closely back in early February once it became obvious-- at least to non-Beltway types-- that Ryan was going to steal the nomination.Remember the Republican gun nut/Trump petition we told you about? It's closing in on 40,000 names now, heavily supported by NRA types and by Democrats who love the idea of a televised GOP shoot-out at the convention. (You can sign it at the link.)

In July of 2016, the GOP will host its convention at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Though Ohio is an open carry state, which allows for the open carry of guns, the hosting venue-- the Quicken Loans Arena-- strictly forbids the carry of firearms on their premises.According to the policy on their website, "firearms and other weapons of any kind are strictly forbidden on the premises of Quicken Loans Arena."This is a direct affront to the Second Amendment and puts all attendees at risk. As the National Rifle Association has made clear, "gun-free zones" such as the Quicken Loans Arena are "the worst and most dangerous of all lies." The NRA, our leading defender of gun rights, has also correctly pointed out that "gun free zones... tell every insane killer in America... (the) safest place to inflict maximum mayhem with minimum risk." (March 4, 2016 and Dec. 21, 2012)Cleveland, Ohio is consistently ranked as one of the top ten most dangerous cities in America. By forcing attendees to leave their firearms at home, the RNC and Quicken Loans Arena are putting tens of thousands of people at risk both inside and outside of the convention site.This doesn't even begin to factor in the possibility of an ISIS terrorist attack on the arena during the convention. Without the right to protect themselves, those at the Quicken Loans Arena will be sitting ducks, utterly helpless against evil-doers, criminals or others who wish to threaten the American way of life.All three remaining Republican candidates have spoken out on the issue and are unified in their opposition to Barack HUSSEIN Obama's "gun-free zones."

Donald Trump said "I will get rid of gun-free zones on schools—you have-- and on military bases on my first day. It gets signed my first day...you know what a gun-free zone is to a sicko? That's bait." (Jan. 8. 2016)Ted Cruz has accurately pointed out "shooting after shooting after shooting happens in so called gun-free zones." He continued, "look, if you're a lunatic ain't nothing better then having a bunch of targets you know that are going to be unarmed." (Dec. 4, 2015)And Ohio Governor John Kasich has been a leader in this movement to eliminate deadly "gun-free zones" starting with his brave decision to fight the Democrats and end "gun-free zones" at National Guard facilities in Ohio. (Dec. 18, 2015)

We are all too familiar with the mass carnage that can occur when citizens are denied their basic God-given rights to carry handguns or assault weapons in public. EVERY AMERICAN HAS THE RIGHT TO PROTECT AND DEFEND THEIR FAMILY. With this irresponsible and hypocritical act of selecting a "gun-free zone" for the convention, the RNC has placed its members, delegates, candidates and all US citizens in grave danger.We must take a stand. We cannot allow the national nominating convention of the party of Lincoln and Reagan to be hijacked by weakness and political correctness. The policies of the Quicken Loans Arena do not supersede the rights given to us by our Creator in the U.S. Constitution.THEREFORE, WE ARE CALLING TODAY FOR THE FOLLOWING FIVE POINTS OF ACTION:1. From the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland: A suspension of their policy preventing the open carry of firearms on the premises of the arena from July 18-21, 2016 to coincide with the Republican National Convention.2. From the National Rifle Association: An immediate condemnation of the egregious affront to the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution constituted by the "gun-free zone" loophole to the state law.3. From Ohio Governor John Kasich: A concerted effort to use his executive authority to override the "gun-free zone" loophole being exploited by the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.4. From Reince Priebus and the Republican National Committee: An explanation of how a venue so unfriendly to Second Amendment rights was chosen for the Republican Convention. Further, we demand a contingency plan to relocate the convention to another location should the Quicken Loans Arena refuse to honor the constitutional rights of the RNC guests to open carry firearms during the convention.5. From all Republican candidates for President: You have been brave in raising awareness about the immense dangers posed by "gun-free zones." In order to ensure the safety of your supporters, delegates and all attendees at the convention in July, you must call upon the RNC to rectify this affront to our Second Amendment freedoms and insist upon a suspension of the Quicken Loans Arena's unconstitutional "gun-free zone" loophole. Every American is endowed with a God-given Constitutional right to carry a gun wherever and whenever they please.

One of the Ten Commandments of the Republican Party, after all, is "The only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun." So why is Ryan being so hypercritical about allowing guns into the convention? Even if a few dozen patriots get shot... it's all about watering the roots of liberty anyway, right? No? Early this month, Andrew Tobias reported in the Cleveland Plain Dealer that the city's law enforcement agencies are hitting up the stressed federal budget for significant purchases of riot gear in time to great the Republican conventioneers. They've asked for the money to equip 2,000 control officers, including 2,000 sets of state-of-the-art riot-control suits.

The convention, scheduled for the week of July 18, is expected to attract 50,000 visitors to Cleveland. As part of its security plan, Cleveland is organizing a police force of 5,000 officers-- the city is in the process of recruiting officers from surrounding suburbs and elsewhere to bolster its existing force of about 1,200. Previous conventions also have attracted political demonstrators, ranging from more than 100,000 for the 2004 RNC in New York City to less than 1,000 for the 2012 RNC in Tampa, Florida. Because the RNC has been designated as a National Special Security Event, it is eligible to receive federal funding. Cleveland is planning convention security under the direction of the Secret Service. City officials largely are not commenting on their convention-planning efforts. However, Mayor Frank Jackson's administration told City Council last month that the city plans to spend roughly $30 million of the federal grant on personnel, and $20 million on equipment.

Neither the Philly police nor the Wells Fargo Center Center expects any street violence from disgruntled Hillary Clinton fans if Bernie wins the Democratic Party nomination there the week after the GOP shootout Paul Ryan coronation (July 25-28). I wonder if Ryan, a bow-and-arrow enthusiast, will try to compromise by allow bows and arrows into the convention instead. Will that include crossbows? Dr. Ben wants to know. He was back on Fox and Friends this morning sound apocalyptic and threatening mayhem if Trump doesn't get the nomination. (Trump has promised him a job.) "If there are shenanigans, if it's not straightforward, all of those millions of people that Donald Trump has brought into the arena are not going to stay there. The Republicans are going to lose, and it's going to be not only the presidency, but it's going to be the Senate, and it could even be the House. It's going to be absolute destruction." He didn't repeat his prediction of "turmoil" today.